The Vanishing Jew or Much A Jew About Nothing?

The Vanishing Jew or

Much A Jew About Nothing?

Our leaders are misleaders

Tanakh

‘It’s The Meaning , Stupid’ – Disconnected:

Jewish Dropouts, Alienated Jews, Vanishing Jews

          According to the National Jewish Population Survey, the number of Jews in America declined from 5.5 million in 1990 to 5.2 million in 2000

Oy

Yet, according to demographer, Gary Tobin, the number is actually 6.7 million Jews when included are Jews who don’t list their religion as Jewish but claim to be ethnically or culturally Jewish and those who had been raised as Jews or had at least one Jewish parent.

Hanging chad Jews – dimple chad Jews

(Tobin must be from West Palm Beach, Florida)

Oy vey

So, now the argument becomes – not why Jews are dropping out, disconnected, and alienated – defining Jews as counting Jews becomes confused with Jewishness

Oy vey meir

5.2 million, 5.5 million, 6.7 million – is a convenient argument off the point.

The population of the United States has grown, and Jews as a percentage have decreased. Worse, when one takes out from the so called 30% affiliation rate of Jews the 95% that are but twice a year high holiday Jews, not only is effective affiliation less than 2% - the 2% rate (inversely a 98% failure rate) is declining.

Tom Paine once wrote, ‘a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it the superficial appearance of being right,’ while Faulkner wrote in The Reivers, ‘reasons create laws but then the reasons change but the law don’t.’ In any event, insanity is redoubling the same efforts and methods that have failed over and over again

          Current American Judaism isn’t working.

The insulated self serving American Judaic establishment (an in particular, the SINagogue Edifice Complex Commercial Rabbinate) isn’t listening focusing on itself (The SINagogue Distribution of Judaism) while repeating self absolving excuses:

·        assimilation into the American culture

·        mobility of society, breakdown of the family

·        lack of money – always lack of money- yada yada yada

·        the self exoneration spinning failure into success from Deuteronomy VaEthchanan 4:27: “God will then scatter you among the nations, and only a small number will remain among the nations to which God will lead you.”

And the American Jewish Establishment (in particular, the SINagogue Edifice Complex Commercial Rabbinate and its Ganzer Machers (1) repeats with nauseating regularity (sans Phillips Milk of Magnesia) and the same failed solutions

·        Jewish day school education,

·        more money,

·        Jewish speed dating,

·        more money

·        ‘out reach’ programs

·        more money

·        Tikkun Olam (repair the world) programs

·        more money

·        a new SINagogue wing

·        more money, more money, more money

Judaism needs to meet us where we are – and most of us aren’t in synagogue very often

Rabbi Niles Goldstein, Gonzo Judaism, p.14

Bottom Line: It’s Meaning (INNER-Reach Ignition), Stupids

1.     Ganzer Machers – big shots